OREANDA-NEWS. ABB Reports 2015 First-Quarter Earnings.

Total orders received in the quarter were up 15 percent on a like-for-like basis (flat in US dollars). The appreciation of the US dollar in Q1 2015 versus the prior year period resulted in a negative translation impact on reported orders of 13 percent; divestitures had an impact of 2 percent.

Base orders (below USD 15 million) increased in four divisions and were steady overall compared with the first quarter of 2014. Base orders declined in Process Automation, primarily reflecting lower discretionary spending in the oil and gas sector. Large orders (above USD 15 million) increased more than 100 percent, led by the Power Systems and Process Automation divisions, and represented 23 percent of total orders compared with 12 percent in the same quarter a year ago.

Geographically, orders grew in all three regions - Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the Middle East and Africa (AMEA) - driven mainly by higher large orders. Lower base orders in Europe and in AMEA were compensated by base order growth in the Americas, mainly in the US and Canada. Base orders were steady in China and Germany in the quarter.

Service orders represented 15 percent of total orders compared with 18 percent a year ago, reflecting the much higher share of large orders received in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same quarter in 2014.

The order backlog at the end of March 2015 amounted to USD 25.5 billion, an increase of 10 percent (down 5 percent in US dollars) compared to the end of the same quarter in 2014.

The book-to-bill2 ratio in the first quarter increased to 1.22x compared with 1.09x in the same quarter a year earlier, and was above 1.0x in all divisions.

Revenues grew 3 percent on a like-for-like basis (down 10 percent in US dollars) in the first quarter, mainly reflecting the successful execution of the stronger order backlog in most businesses. The appreciation of the US dollar in Q1 2015 versus the prior year period resulted in a negative translation impact on reported revenues of 10 percent; divestitures had an impact of 3 percent.

Revenues were steady to higher in all divisions except Process Automation, where the lower opening order backlog in the oil and gas and mining businesses resulted in a modest revenue decline.

Total service revenues increased 6 percent (down 7 percent in US dollars) and reached 17 percent of total revenues, up from 16 percent in the same quarter a year earlier.

Operational EBITA increased on a like-for-like basis compared to the first quarter 2014, mainly due to better performance in Power Systems supported by progress on the 'step change' program. On a US-dollar basis, operational EBITA was down due to currency translation effects of approximately 10 percent and impacts from divestments of approximately 4 percent.

The operational EBITA margin of 11.1 percent remained stable compared to the first quarter of 2014, as improvements in Power Systems were offset by negative business and geographic mix effects in the other divisions. These included reductions in discretionary oil and gas spending and the economic downturn in countries such as Russia.

Net income for the quarter increased 4 percent to USD 564 million. Basic earnings per share (EPS) amounted to USD 0.25 in the first quarter compared to USD 0.24 in the same quarter a year earlier. Operational EPS2 on a constant currency basis was USD 0.31 versus USD 0.29 in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 5 percent.